One of the best parts of the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon's competition is seeing all of the different sustainable building technologies and products used in the construction of each of the homes. We'll admit that the first building component we look at are the windows and doors - after all, this is a competition that's all about the best of the best in sustainable construction!

This past October at the 2013 Solar Decathlon, two our staffers had the opportunity to go to California to tour the 19 entries in the competition. We were pleased to see that about half of the homes featured European-style windows and doors.

Of course, the three European teams, including the winning team Team Austria from Vienna University of Technology, all had tilt and turn windows and high-performance exterior doors, but many of the North American teams also opted for European windows and doors - most likely because of their excellent air, water, sound and structural ratings.

It's great to see more and more discerning building professionals - even our up and coming ones - specify high-performance fenestration for their projects.

We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Team Alberta for placing 9th at the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013. In what was the tightest competition in the Solar Decathlon's history, Team Alberta earned an impressive 913 points out of a total of 1000 possible points. The very close competition was a reflection of all of the quality homes displayed in California.

Team Alberta designed and built a modular, net-zero home named Borealis for this year's Solar Decathlon. The affordable, comfortable and energy efficient home was built in response to the immediate need for housing for the resource industry working in remote areas of Western Canada. + Read more about Borealis here

The winner of the Solar Decathlon is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellent with optimal production and maximum efficiency. The winner of this year's tight competition was Team Austria from the Vienna University of Technology. Congrats to Team Austria!

During the ten day competition, Director of Business Development at Innotech George Nickel and Director of Sales from Fentro Technologies Henry Nickel went to California to support Team Alberta and take part in some of the Solar Decathlon's festivities. Here are some of our favourite photos:

An arial photo from Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California where the 19 competing teams re-constructed their homes for the competition:

The entrance to the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013:

Below right: Team Alberta's Project Manager Alexandre inviting us into Borealis. Below left: Neal from Team Alberta with George from Innotech.

The back of Team Alberta's t-shirts showing all of the sponsors of Borealis:

Congratulations once again to Team Alberta for all of their hard work and genuine passion for high-performance, energy-efficient design and building. It was a pleasure working with you and cheering you every step of the way! See you in 2015!

Two years of creating, designing and building a solar-powered home has come down to these 10 days of competition! Team Alberta, pictured above with Borealis, is currently in Irvine, California for the much-anticipated 2013 Solar Decathlon.

We've been closely following all of the excitement on Team Alberta's Facebook page and Twitter feed. And if all the buzz is to be believed, it sounds like our windows and doors are the talk of Borealis:

You can support Team Alberta by voting online for the People's Choice Award. It takes less than a minute to show your support to a dedicated team of students who have spent hours helping make Borealis the hit that it is.

For the past three years Innotech has been a proud sponsor of Team Canada's entry into the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon, a building competition that challenges teams from around the world to design and build the energy efficient housing of the future.

Team Canada's entry in 2011, the TRTL (Technological Residence Traditional Living), was very well received, cracking the top 10 in the competition and winning a prized Emerald Award in the Education category. After the competition the home was donated back to its birthplace, the University of Calgary, where it will be utilized as a student hub for sustainability research.

On March 21st the stakeholders of the TRTL gathered to rededicate the project as the Spo'pi Solar House. Representatives from the school as well as from the Treaty 7 First Nations people were on hand to validate the transfer from the students to the school. Today, May 2nd, the facility will celebrate its grand opening, and the entire team at Innotech wishes the University and its students the best of luck with their new space, and we can't wait to see what energy efficient innovations they come up with.

Innotech is a proud sponsor of Team Canada's entry into the 2011 Solar Decathlon, a semi-annual competition held by the US Department Energy that challenges students from around the world to design, build, and operate solar powered homes. Entrants are judged on energy efficiency, design appeal, and affordability, and while Canada's TRTL concept didn't win the competition, the team placed a very respectable 10th amidst a field of 20.

But, recently the team was recognized with an award closer to home.

Innotech is a proud sponsor of Team Canada's entry into the 2011 Solar Decathlon, a semi-annual competition held by the US Department Energy that challenges students from around the world to design, build, and operate solar powered homes. Entrants are judged on energy efficiency, design appeal, and affordability, and while Canada's TRTL concept didn't win the competition, the Team placed a very respectable 10th amidst a field of 20.

But recently the Team was recognized with an award closer to home. At the 21st annual Alberta Emerald Foundation Awards, Team Canada received a coveted Emerald in the category of "Education: School or Classroom", awarded to Alberta classrooms, schools or formal educational curricula and programs that have gone beyond normal practices to show leadership and creativity in educating students about environmental matters.

“I am extremely proud of the Team for achieving this prestigious recognition of their work in the Solar Decathlon competition,” says Loraine Fowlow, Faculty Lead for the project. “These students are fantastic ambassadors for the University, showcasing their talents in this highly demanding, international competition. Their success with this project highlights the value that the University of Calgary places on experiential learning and applied research.”

Innotech would like to pass our congratulations onto the entire TRTL team, and we are extremely proud to see this innovative and exciting learning happening in Canada.

+ To learn more about the TRTL project, please visit their website; please click here

+ Team Canada produced a short video tour of the TRTL home; view the tour

+ For more information and photos about Innotech and the TRTL project, click here

We would like to congratulate Team Canada on placing 10th at the 2011 Solar Decathlon! The team has worked tirelessly over the last weeks building, dis-assembling, re-assembling, dis-assembling and re-assembling (again!) the TRTL for the international competition in Washington, DC.

To view the results of this year's Solar Decathlon, visit www.solardecathlon.gov. Congratulations to the winners: Team Maryland!

Here are some photos our Technical Director, Al Jaugelis, took of Team Canada's TRTL concept home while he was in Washington:

For more information about Team Canada's 2011 Solar Decathlon entry, click here.